


Take Me Back To The Start

by LuceCannon21



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
Genre: Agent Stone has a Boyfriend, Death Threats, First Meetings, Gun Violence, M/M, Murder, Mutual Pining, Neglectful relationship, Possibly Unrequited Love, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pre-Canon, Robotnik you homewrecker, Stone Has Can And Will Kill Again, Stone is a Mononym, Trust Issues, amputee character, eating instant coffee
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-26
Updated: 2020-03-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:41:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22903381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuceCannon21/pseuds/LuceCannon21
Summary: No assistant has lasted longer than a month under Doctor Ivo Robotnik, and while that was acceptable, it led to Stone, known perfectionist and capable Secret Agent to have to work with the infamous Doctor. Lets see how long he lasts.
Relationships: Dr. Eggman | Dr. Robotnik/Agent Stone
Comments: 114
Kudos: 299





	1. The Doctor Will See You Now

“Look I know the assignment says it’s for a month, but if you quit after a week, I won't blame you. Most agents do.” The Major leading Agent Stone sighed as he swiped his key card to open the door to Garage 06. The cavernous interior was laced with wires, shelves, and trash. 

“Why is that?” Stone winced as the smell of spoiled food, burnt plastic, and grease wafted from the pit. 

“Well... Your new superior... Most agents end up quitting, sometimes it's his behavior, sometimes they get injured. Sometimes... They vanish.” Stone was all too familiar with the paperwork that went through when someone no longer existed. He had seen friends be erased, but usually it wasn’t a man that erased them. It was their own fault. So, what would this man have done to make them unsexist? 

“Ah... Well. I’ll make sure to let you know if it comes to that.” He muttered as he took a few steps into the darkness of the garage. “What's his name again?” 

“Doctor Ivo Robotnik. He’s in there somewhere. If you can’t find him, check under things.” The Major seemed eager to get away, and the second Stone took a full step into the room, the door slid shut behind him with a worrying Hiss-Clunk. 

The entire garage was filled with scrap metal, crumpled bits and pieces of trash, and things one would most likely see in a mechanic’s shop, or the isles of a hardware store. Hydraulic lifts and rows upon rows of meticulously organized nuts, bolts, and screws shone in fluorescent lights where the rest of the room was laid with a layer of dust and grime. 

Stone was more aware of his own footsteps than he had ever been as he approached what he could only assume was the center of the room, where a series of large screens cast a blue light glow across the table in front of them, and sitting at that table, head pressed into a pile of papers and broken pencil, was a figure, shadowed by the computers as Stone could only assume he slept. 

Leather shoes clicking on the cement floor grew muffled as the sheets of paper grew thicker and thicker the closer, he got to the table. The smell of unwashed clothes and burnt coffee permeated the air. Stone didn’t even notice his hand going to tap the figure until it was too late. An animalistic scream shook the room as the man in the chair leapt up, standing on the table as he took up a wide, ineffective fighting stance. 

“WHO ARE YOU. WHO LET YOU IN HERE HUH?” The man was dressed in too large red t-shirt and grey sweatpants, stained with various greases and other materials Stone didn’t even want to think about. He had on socks, but they were the kind your parents bought you for Christmas and you never wore unless you were going to go skiing or something. Ugly colors and fuzzy textures. Those too were bleached by time and threadbare though. And with a tone of disbelief, Stone asked. 

“You’re Doctor Robotnik?” 

The Doctor squinted at him, and he finally got a good look at his face. He wasn’t sure if the thing residing on the man’s upper lip was a dead squirrel or a moustache. But it certainly was... there. He had a thick nest of hair, singed, and cut in places that would only be possible if he had cut every piece at different times. No wonder the Major had warned him. This guy was obviously insane. 

“Yes.” The Doctor straightened, still standing on the table. “I am. And who are you supposed to be? Knock off Agent J?” He hissed. 

“You mean... From Men in Black?” Stone could feel a headache growing behind his eyes. And wondered how this guy could deal with all these screens glaring at him. 

“Yes of course I mean from Men in Black.” He huffed. “I suspect those up the chain sent you to babysit me.” 

“Well, I wouldn’t say babysit... I’m supposed to be your assistant.” He whispered taking a step back as the man jumped down from the table and walked over to a tiny plastic chair in a dark corner. 

“You. Do you see this chair?” The doctor pointed at it. Stone was convinced he had used one of those during summer when he was 6 and remembered how the plastic would stick to his legs. 

He just nodded, not sure how to deal with what he had found in this rat's nest of a workshop. 

“Sit here. Do not talk. Do not breathe if possible. I have lots of work to do for mine and your good friend, Uncle Sam.” He hissed, walking back to the computer and pushing every single paper and pencil onto the floor. When Stone found himself anchored to the floor, the doctor stalked over to him. “Did you hear me? I said you-” He pointed at stone “- Goooo-” He walked his fingers across his palm. “- There.” He pointed to the chair. 

Stone blinked, aware of just how... rancid this guy smelled, and looked up close. 

“When was the last time you took a shower... Sir.” 

Robotnik was stunned to say the least. He was half tempted to crush this man’s fingers under his heel. But then he remembered he wasn’t wearing shoes and that would be much more difficult. As well as the fact that with those words, he was quickly made aware of the fact that he did smell. Very bad in fact. Though he hadn't brought any other clothes with him when he came from his “House”. 

“I’d say... Two weeks.” He shrugged. “I have drones to make Agent! Science waits for no one you see.” 

Stone felt himself almost gag. The scruff on Robotics' neck was certainly about two weeks old. But that couldn’t explain the absolute explosion of hair coming from his top lip. It was insane to look at, and he had to hold himself back to not go to his car and get his clippers to just shave it all off. 

Well, he really just got distracted. By the fact that the doctor was eating instant coffee out of its plastic cannister with a spoon. 

“JESUS CHRIST ALRIGHT.” Stone threw up his hands. “Sir, permission to speak freely.” 

Robotnik licked coffee granules from his moustache. “You seemed to be doing that before. I didn’t know you had to ask.” 

“Let me... Let me clean in here. Go home and take a shower for the love of god. It smells awful in here.” Stone felt slightly embarrassed, he was never one to speak up to superiors, but he honestly felt bad for this man. He was obviously disturbed, and maybe it was natural, or maybe it was two weeks of nonstop work that had done it. But he really, really wanted to not spend his next month in a pigsty with a grease stain of a man. 

Robotnik paused. “A perfectionist eh? Afraid to get your hands dirty Agent? Well... I’ll indulge you. You get half a day. If you intend to clean my lair, I expect you to know what is and isn't important, and if I find you threw out one, single, itty, bitty, thing that meant anything to my research, I will use you for target practice.” He had an uncanny grin on his face, and Stone could feel a chill run up his spine. “In fact...” He pulled a bundle of wires from his pocket and touched two wires together. In the distance, there was a clunk, and from behind them, a bunch of pristine white football shapes flew from dark corners, surrounding them. “These are my Badniks, they are capable of reading your every vital sign, severing your carotid artery from 100 yards, and, they transmit video straight to any one of my integrated systems. So, while you work, I will be watching you. And I expect nothing but perfection. Seeing as you had so many complaints about how I kept my lair.” He hissed, now walking very, very close to stone. “You’ll see me in twelve hours Agent. But I’ll be seeing you...” He leaned close, breath hitting Stone’s ear. “Always.” 

When Doctor Robotnik walked out, not even bothering to put shoes on, Agent Stone’s heart was in his throat. He had seen the Doctor as bumbling madman, a decent scientist sure, he had to be if the U.S. Government seemed to think so highly of his work, but now he realized, he wasn’t bumbling. He was calculated, and very sure of what he was doing. And Stone was sure that Robotnik was watching this realization crawl across his face right now. 

So, he looked down, at all the papers, hiding his face from the drone’s cameras, and started picking up broken and chewed pencils, half drawn sketches, and crumpled protein bar wrappers. 

Robotnik sniffed his own collar, and gagged, realizing how long two weeks was in the span of the human body, and how if he didn’t change this outfit, he would most likely throw up. So, as he left, he tried to cover up his self-disgust with a bit of entertainment. 

The new Agent was stumbling over his hands as he groped at papers and loose wires, trying to straighten up a room that had self-destructed over the past decade or two. He had no intent to let the Agent stay past the next 12 hours. Though, he was curious what the man who had enough guts to call him out would do to the garage. 

Agent Stone had been stacking papers in boxes for at least three hours now. And the wall of boxes was reaching his head in height and lined the back wall of the garage. Plastic trash bags filled with bottles of 5 hour energy, empty Folgers instant coffee jars, and various wrappers were being burned to a crisp in the incinerator as he worked, and he had set his coat and tie across the back of the swivel chair he had found Robotnik in not too long ago. The scrap metal had been consolidated in the corner near the hydraulic lift at the cost of his lower back, and all the while, the drones had hovered behind him, bobbing ominously. 

To distract himself, he set his phone up on the now cleared table and pulled up a playlist on his phone, though his poor little phone speaker wasn’t enough to counteract the noise from the egg drones. 

Robotnik had left his computer on though. And it was logged in and everything. So, if Robotnik had a problem with him pulling up Spotify on his giant gamer PC, he would have to shoot him. 

Ivo Robotnik hardly noticed as the audio on the remote was off, and he was trying to see how long he could withstand the nearly scalding temperatures of his shower. Hopping out every few seconds and cackling. He slathered his whole body in 5 in 1 body wash, shampoo, conditioner, face wash, and a mysterious fifth element not stated on the package. 

If Stone had seen this, he would have smacked the accursed bottle out of his hand. But for now, Robotnik was safe in his foolish shower practices. 

Stone was now in hour six, halfway through his allotted time, and was taking a break. He had gotten used to the presence of the massive oblong droids bobbing behind him half the time, and while sure, they were ominous, he had had guns pointed at him before, and was able to get out of that. So, what was a few more guns, attached to flying egg drones? 

Given free access to the Doctor’s garage, Stone had learned a decent amount about the man. Five PHD’s laid in a file labeled “For Bragging” and several other degrees sat in a file labeled “Got Bored” Though the earliest was from when the doctor must have been about... 11? At most? He proceeded to put them both in a file labeled “Degrees” and set them with all the other folders in the filing cabinet he was able to unearth in the process. He had found several files and papers he didn’t feel confident in relegating to the boxes of shame along the wall, so he was now outfitting the filing cabinet with labels and many, many manila folders. 

This entire time he had been blaring various playlists, podcasts, and even an episode or two of his favorite shows. It was difficult to keep up the stamina to clean after six hours. But the progress he had made was incredible, and he was determined to keep cleaning until it killed him. Which was a definite possibility. 

Robotnik had slept for three uninterrupted hours, which was more than he had gotten in about two months. So of course, he was awoken by the obnoxious beeping of his phone. The private number clarified that it was coming from the military as usual, and he made himself a bet that it was Major McKinley, and if it was, he would get to go back to sleep. 

“Hello, what do you want McKinley.” Barking down the phone, he heard the telltale grunt of the major, and the corners of his mouth twitched in smug satisfaction. 

“How come you’re not at the base. I went to see if you had killed Agent Stone and found him cleaning to ABBA with four drones floating around him.” 

“He sent me home.” The Doctor added the name “Stone” to the file in his head he had for the new agent. “Said I stunk. You should have told me this McKinley; I would have gone home sooner.” 

“Ah- Well... You know how it is. Those up the ladder just want their robots y’know.” The Major sounded embarrassed, and Robotnik took great pleasure in making people feel shame in their actions. 

“Well, glad to know you don’t care about my hygiene. I’ll be done with the new Auto-Tank by tomorrow. This little break has done wonders for my mental faculties. I feel like I could dismantle a jet fighter.” He wasn’t lying. Cleaning himself and resting had made him realize just how tense he had been. Just how disgusting he felt. Though he did suspect it wouldn’t last long. He tended to forget these kinds of things when he got deep into work. And it's not like his assistants ever said anything. Not until now. 

“Well, as long as it gets finished, I doubt anyone will complain about you taking a break.” He paused “I’m surprised you listened to Stone.” 

“I was in a good mood. And well, I’m never wrong, so why worry.” He laid back down “Buh-bye Major.” and hung up. 

He switched to the feed of the Lair, and saw Stone not just picking things up, but sweeping, and dusting. He had gotten through the piles of refuse to actually start cleaning the floor. For a second Robotnik was almost tempted to shoot him, because this kind of cleaning must have thrown out at least something important. But then he saw the boxes along the walls, the prototypes and scrap moved to the corner, and the filing cabinets next to his desk now. The agent had been meticulous in his work, and Robotnik was sure it would be at least a week before it needed to be cleaned again. 

Maybe he wouldn’t try to chase this assistant away. He honestly didn’t mind the possibility of working in a clean lair. 

And with a little more peace of mind, He went back to sleep. He did sleep with his eyes open though. It was extremely unnerving. 

It was Hour 12. And Stone was finally satisfied. The lights in the garage were all on, and there was not a spot of dust anywhere. While he had to keep all of the Doctors belongings in order, so there were still the many boxes he hoped to have the Doctor go through, but he assumed everything was alright, as he hadn't been shot yet. As a last resort though, he had gone to the break room, which was much nicer than any fortune 500, or startup, and made something he thought the Doctor could use. 

When he returned, he saw the unforgettable figure of Doctor Robotnik. Who was squinting at every bit of the room, scrutinizing Stone’s work without speaking? 

He approached with the cups in hand and was lucky he didn’t spill anything as the Doctor turned and yelped in surprise. 

“Agent Stone. Glad to see you didn’t run off. Or vandalize my Lair.” He exhaled in a tired, frustrated manner. But the drones didn’t activate any weird protocols, and the doctor simply went over to his worktable and sat down. 

“Oh, um, Doctor, I noticed you um... Eat... Coffee... And well. I thought you might... Want to try it not... terrible.” Stone was trying hard not to insult this man, but god was it hard, seeing as every scrap of information he had was pointing to the fact that he had zero idea how to exist as a human being and hadn't had a haircut in years. 

The Doctor looked up at him “Well? Hand it over.” 

Stone handed over the artisanal coffee. There had been a point where he had been a barista in an upscale café and had developed a rather... prissy taste in coffees and teas. This one had used the last of his personal supply of beans and goat milk. 

But he felt that this man could use it. It was for special occasions, but this counted. 

It took a second, but the Doctor took a sip, and his eyes went wide. “I don’t even taste the poison. You are truly skilled Agent Stone.” 

“Poison? No, it's just... Its Blue mountain with Austrian Goat Milk and agave syrup.” He paused “Why would I poison you?” 

Robotnik paused, taking another sip “You seem like the type to not get his hands dirty. Though you are an agent... Do you prefer guns?” 

Stone paused “I wouldn’t say prefer.” 

“Well, how well can you shoot. Give me a little demonstration.” Robotnik laid a leg across the armrest of his chair, pulling the late up to his chin, the maniacal grin he had was elevated by the still wild moustache. “HmmmmmmmmMMMMMM.” He suddenly pointed to a mug that Stone had placed across the room by the exit. “Break that.” 

“What?” Stone blinked, hesitant to send shards of ceramic all over after cleaning. 

“Shoot it. Show me what you got Agent.” The Doctor grinned wider. “If you’re going to hang with me, you must be able to defend yourself eh?” 

Stone sighed, set down his latte, and pulled his government issue handgun from his coat. Before Robotnik was able to blink, the mug across the room shattered, and the gun was replaced. “I won the base sharpshooting competition this year.” 

“FANTASTIC.” The Doctor downed the rest of his still scalding latte and took Stone’s off the table, rolling himself closer to the table with one foot. “Tomorrow I will be going with Major McKinley to a rather... remote location to test out my brand new Badnik. I want you to make sure no one tries to kill me when I am busy. 

Stone paused, considering the request, and seeing as he was already the man’s assistant. He nodded. 

“It wasn’t a request Stone. Don’t worry.” Robotnik cracked his fingers, before pulling up various AutoCAD programs and messages between him and the people manufacturing the parts. “You are Dismissed for now. Be here at 6 am though. Otherwise I’ll send one of my drones to end your life while you sleep in.” 

“Yes sir.” Stone went to take a sip of his latte but remembered that the Doctor had snatched it while he had been busy. So, with a sigh, he left and set his alarm for 4:30, just in case.


	2. Doctors Orders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A plan to eliminate the Doctor takes no one by surprise.

Stone came in to work at 5:30 am, in an attempt to impress his new superior. Who he discovered, had not even shown up yet. So he walked to the garage, which he had heard been called the Lair several times, and took a seat in the chair he had used to replace the tiny plastic chair that Robotnik had commanded him to sit in the day before. Quietly tapping on his phone, he hardly noticed the door open as the Doctor walked in. He held a plastic tub full of various remotes and small robots and drones. Stone witnessed as he set the tub down over near the Hydraulic lift and kissed the top of the bucket. 

When he turned, he locked eyes with Stone, and frantically looked over at the tub. He coughed, before regaining his regular feral bravado. 

“Agent Stone, you’re early!” 

Stone checked his watch, which read 6:15. “I’m not actually.” 

“Ah. Well. We need to go over a few things before we get on the plane.” Robotnik had on a massive pullover and a pair of jeans that he had obviously had for a long while. While he wore shoes this time, they were white sneakers that had turned grey and brown over time. Stone was glad it was at least sort of clean this time. But he wished that there was some way to burn this man’s whole wardrobe. 

A few seconds later, his brain registered the comment the Doctor had made. “I’m sorry sir, Plane?” 

“Of course, where do you think we were going to test my Auto-Tank? Arlington?” He cackled “I wish. No, we will be heading to Bumfuck Nowhere Wyoming! The U.S. Government has given me permission to test out my new creation on a bunch of doomsday cultists hiding out in the middle of Washakie County. If everything goes according to plan, they’ll get their wish.” The Doctor sat on the table in front of him. “Doomsday.” 

“But we’re taking a plane?” Stone could care less about the why, but he HATED planes with a passion. “Must we?” 

“Well we have to get there today, so yes.” Robotnik shrugged. “I’m not thrilled either, but it's not like I have any other way of transporting my Badniks.” 

Stone sighed, wishing he had packed Dramamine before leaving the house. “Alright, well, when are we leaving?” 

“Now. But I just need you to listen. I believe Major McKinley intends to kill me and blame it on those we are disposing of. I need you to make sure that does not happen. I have never been wrong Agent, and I intend to keep living that way for many years to come.” He jumped up. “Just use those sharpshooting skills you showed me yesterday. Otherwise you’ll be an accessory to murder!” 

Stone’s mind went through a few loops trying to see how that sentence would be logical, as either way he would be. But before he could open his mouth to protest, the Doctor began walking out of the garage. “I’ll be waiting Agent! But not for long!” 

Stone exhaled shakily, and followed, watching the weird shaggy formation of The Doctor’s hair bounce as he strode down the halls of the base. He tucked his hands behind his back, sweat coating his palms. 

He hadn’t even noticed Robotnik stop in front of a car, unmarked in all but lisence plate, it was a slate grey and had deeply tinted windows. And instead of standard headlights, it had massive red cameras, like the rest of Robotnik’s creations. “Are you going to get in Agent?” 

“You’re driving us?” Stone felt disbelief pool in the back of his mind, but quickly dismissed it as the Doctor laughed. 

“I can’t drive.” He said this almost proudly. “It drives itself!” 

“Oh. Huh.” Stone walked to the passenger side, and sat down, pleasantly surprised by how clean it was inside. 

Robotnik put in the directions, and then turned to Stone as the car began to drive on its own, just as Robotnik had said it would. 

“So, Agent Stone. Tell me about yourself.” He leaned his chin in his hand, devilish eyes glinting from under his mess of hair. 

“I assume you could just pull up my file sir.” Stone didn’t enjoy talking about himself, and genuinely thought that Robotnik would never have asked this question. But of course, he should have never thought he could predict this man. 

“Oh, I could, but I'd prefer to hear it from you first.” He kicked his feet absentmindedly “Soooo... What your first name?” 

Stone looked at him “It’s just... Agent Stone. Stone is a mononym.” 

“OH REALLY?” The Doctor gasped in false surprise. “And why is that?” 

“Had to change it. Thought it would be more convenient if I didn’t have to write a long name.” Stone had legally died twice, and his first two names had involved first and last and middle names much too long for any sensible person. So, when constructing his third identity, he picked Stone, mostly because The Rock was already taken. 

“Faaacinating. When did you become one of our great nation’s faceless dogs?” 

“I joined the air force at 18.” Stone sighed. “All of this information is easily accessible through your clearance sir.” 

“Yes, but it's more fun hearing someone tell me their secrets. Like... Mother’s maiden name, name of your first-grade teacher, and those 3 numbers on the back of their debit card.” Stone rolled his eyes and Robotnik let out a raspy cackle. “You should see your face. You look like a moron.” 

“Well what about you then? Anything you want to tell me?” Robotnik stopped laughing, almost confused. 

None of his assistants had ever asked him about himself. Most had just ignored him as best they could. And when they couldn’t, they screamed. “You’re certainly something Agent.” He tapped his chin, pondering for some fun fact he could tell Agent Stone. And then shrugged “It's not well known, but I stopped a country from forming once.” Stone could tell he wasn’t joking, and that Robotnik took great pride in this achievement. “I do love destroying things before they even get the chance to form. Like this cult.” 

“You seem like a bit of a secret weapon Doctor. Does that ever bother you? Wouldn’t you rather use your achievements to help people?” Stone pondered, watching as planes grew ever closer as they neared the airfield. 

Robotnik cackled, having to catch his breath a few times. “You don’t get it do you Agent? I’m evil, why would I help people when I can keep making deadlier and deadlier inventions. I do little things for our Government and they give me basically anything I want.” He smirked “Including opportunities to test my inventions out on moving targets.” 

Stone had never really heard someone call themself evil before. Usually when he heard someone being called evil, it was an insult. Stone had even been called it before. But the doctor claimed it as a badge of honor, and he had to respect his guts. 

They pulled up next to a hangar, where a Globemaster style airplane sat in wait for them. Standing at the ramp was Major McKinley, checking his watch with a fervor. 

“Robotnik, you’re late.” He shouted as they got out of the car. “We were supposed to leave 30 minutes ago!” 

“Oh, don’t get your knickers in a twist Major. I’ll erase your insurgents either way.” Robotnik casually sauntered into the plane and stone could hear him giggle like a little girl. “Ohhhhh she's beautiful!” Stone followed, trying to ignore the shaking of his legs as he entered the bay of the aircraft, where robotnik was stalking around a massive tank adjacent machine, with the trademark white plating and red cameras on its faces. Stone found one of the many bucket seats lining the wall, and almost fell into it while the major joined them in the back, yelling at the pilots to begin takeoff procedures. 

Stone could feel his leg ache already and set his head back against the hard plastic. He heard a thump and saw Robotnik sit down next to him. “Remember what I told you. Keep your guard up.” 

Stone didn’t know how he could do that, as he was currently focusing on not throwing up. But he nodded and took a deep breath. 

“You obviously don’t want to be disturbed. It’ll be about 4 hours. If you need anything, ask McKinley. I will be taking a nap!” Robotnik suddenly pulled his sweater over his head, and Stone swore he heard him start snoring almost instantly. Leaving him alone in the back of a plane. Probably his least favorite place in the world. 

Stone had relived half of his life in the past four hours and had kicked himself several more times. But never had he wanted to scream more than when the plane began to land. 

He bit his own palm to muffle his yelling as they landed in a nondescript field in the middle of wyoming. As the wheels touched the grass beneath them, robotnik popped out of the neck hole of his massive sweater and unbuckled himself, gleefully striding over to the Auto-Tank and opening a panel on the side, pulling a tablet from within and activating the tank. 

The doors were hardly open when he sent the thing flying out of the bay door, McKinley shouting something Stone could hardly hear over the ringing in his ears. 

He stepped out shakily into the over bright sun and tried to focus, watching as robotnik climbed on the back of the tank as McKinley drove the jeep out of the plane. 

“Get in Stone. We need to talk.” McKinley was watching as Robotnik crested the hill in front of them and shook his head dourly. 

Stone climbed into the passenger seat, and rubbed his face “What is it Major?” 

“You’re about to watch a man murder a large group of people. How do you feel about that?” McKinley looked at Stone expectantly. 

Stone paused. “Bad? I guess?” He did not sound convincing. 

“Let me rephrase that. You’re about to watch a man murder American citizens, and you’re ok with that?” Stone was still dazed from the flight, but something wasn’t adding up to him. 

“You were willing to send him on this mission. Why should I care?” Stone pressed his palms into his eyes and groaned. “What do you want me to do about it?” 

“Absolutely nothing. Just stand back as I end the mad man. It’ll be over before you know it.” He patted Stone on the shoulder, and he honestly didn’t have the energy to lean away. 

But he began weighing the facts in his head. Should he let McKinley do it? What would he gain? Which option would benefit him the most? 

He could hear screaming and gunshots in the distance and focused once more. “You still wanted this though. You’re using him until you think you can’t control him.” 

“No one could control him. It's only a matter of time before he becomes a danger to us all.” McKinley sounded confident, but Stone knew something. Something McKinley seemed to forget. 

Anyone could become a danger. So, who was he to decide what danger meant? 

Stone sat quietly in the jeep as they crested the hill. In a small valley, a compound was being razed to the ground. Gunfire was being exchanged and standing confidently at the top of the Hill was Doctor Ivo Robotnik, laughing maniacally. 

Stone had never realized that mad scientists, as they existed in video games or cartoons could even exist in real life, but there he was, his body bent in unrealistic ways as he piloted this massive war machine. 

He had no reason not to respect him. He didn’t hide behind fake heroism, he just knew what he wanted, and went out and did it. 

He wished that he could do that too. 

The compound was basically gone in thirty minutes, and Robotnik bowed to them dramatically. A grin plastered across his face. “Fast, easy, effective. The Robotnik Auto-Tank. Feel free to leave five stars on Yelp and Amazon!” 

He had a look in his eye though, he expected something to happen. And he winked ever so slightly, but only to Stone. 

And right on cue, McKinley pulled his pistol out, and pointed it at Robotnik. 

“You stop here Robotnik. This confirmed my suspicions. You’re insane.” 

The Doctor feigned surprise, gasping. “Major, you wound me. I’m just doing what I was asked. Why shouldn’t I try to enjoy my work?” 

The Major’s hand was steady, his finger on the trigger, but he couldn’t help but brag. 

“Because you’re not supposed to enjoy things like this. You shouldn’t laugh and smile. You would have been able to fly under my radar if you had just been... Normal. But you gladly act like an idiot, and so I have no choice but to put you down like the rabid dog you are.” 

Stone sighed, rolling his eye as the Major stepped out of the car. “Now get on your knees Ivo. Let's not make this messy.” 

Robotnik sighed, putting his hands up, and kneeling on the ground. He looked up at the Major, and pouted “Have I been a bad boy McKinley?” 

The Major cocked the gun, and in a second, stone had sent a bullet through his leg, toppling him with a scream. 

“Sorry Major. I’m getting tired of this.” Stone hopped out of the Jeep, walking over to Robotnik and the now collapsed Major, who was holding his calf, where blood began to soak through his fatigues. 

“You have to be FUCKING kidding me Stone. What is your problem?” The Major yelled, grabbing for the gun he had dropped, only to have it snatched up by Robotnik, who removed the magazine and shook out all the bullets onto the ground. “Did you not hear a word of what I said?!” 

“I did, but I hate people who are self-righteous. If you just hate the man, don’t make up an excuse to play the hero.” He looked the Major in the eyes, and McKinley realized he was not looking at the same Agent that he usually saw. His eyes were cold, calculating, and self-assured. “You should have just killed him.” 

Robotnik stared at this man, who had been cleaning his lair and dancing to ABBA not a day before and blinked. It was hard to surprise him, but this had done just that. 

“You're going to allow this disgusting excuse for a human being, a shut in with no friends and family to live?! No one would miss him if he was gone! And you’d be free to go back to your desk, you wouldn’t have to clean up after him!” It sounded suspiciously like he was begging for his life to Stone. 

Stone shook his head “Doctors Orders”, a dark finality in that phrase, as he shot the Major through the neck. 

Falling into the grass, Eric McKinley gurgled out his last breaths and Stone replaced his gun in his coat. 

“Feel free to get in Doctor. I’ll load up.” Stone said this so nonchalantly, even smiling a bit, that Robotnik could hardly believe he had just killed a man. 

But he knew now that he could rely on Agent Stone. So, with a sense of satisfaction, he got into the jeep, sitting where Stone had before. And drove the Auto-Tank up to the jeep 

Stone dragged McKinley’s body to the back of the jeep and threw him in. He nodded, content with his work, and hopped into the driver’s side. 

When they got back to the Plane, Stone began to lie. He was shockingly good at it to Robotnik’s surprise. He explained, almost tearfully how Robotnik had almost been shot by an insurgent, but in the nick of time, McKinley had tackled him and saved his life. At the cost of his own. 

The Pilots didn’t ask questions and helped them place McKinley’s corpse into a body bag and fasten the Auto Tank and Jeep back into the plane. 

Surprisingly, on the way back, Stone was much calmer, and his leg no longer hurt. He chalked that up to luck. 

But before they landed, he noticed Robotnik running his hands through his hair, and rubbing his face. 

“Agent Stone. You are my assistant. And you are a... Decently fashionable man. So, I have a request.” Robotnik looked stressed which was a new expression on his face for Stone. 

“What is it Sir?” He heard the landing gear and his heart jumped, suddenly aware once again, of their precarious position in the universe. 

“I want your help in... Cleaning up. I don’t exactly enjoy looking like I do. But I haven’t had the chance to change it. I think with your assistance, I could be much better respected.” He clapped his hands together “And jarheads like him would be hard pressed to mess with me again.” 

Stone was in no position to deny him, so he didn’t. “Of course, sir, would you like me to schedule a hair appointment?” 

“Do what you like. This seems to be your area of expertise, for now.” Stone didn’t know what to make of that last comment, but he nodded casually. 

“Of course, Sir. Any other requests?” 

“None yet Stone.” Robotnik leaned back in his seat “You’ll know when I have one though.” 

“Of course, Sir.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for making it through chapter two! I hope to get more out soon, and I hope you all enjoyed!


	3. Stepping Stones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robotnik cleans up, though he does need help to do it.

Robotnik went through bursts of energy, where he would work for days on end, not worrying about his physical health or wellbeing. But after those bursts, he always felt like he was going to fall apart. 

He had arrived back to Washington with agent Stone last night, with the agreement to meet in the morning to go begin... Shopping? He supposed that would be the first step. He had felt fine when he went to bed, and thought maybe since he had been able to sleep a day or so ago, he would feel better than usual, but no, his fingers ached, he felt the strain behind his eyes tighten, and his back hurt. 

He knew he was old, but really? Did it always have to be like this? 

As he dragged himself out of bed, he pulled on the same sweater from the day before, but changed into a pair of sweatpants, which he realized was like half of his wardrobe. Of course, they would be gone soon, but until then he didn’t really have anything else to wear. 

His house was fully automated. He left his clothes on the floor and when he would come home, they would be gone. He had designed it himself, but had always felt he had made it too large. So, he spent most of his time in the Lair he created for himself at the base. It was smaller, more compact. Though it had been full of garbage until recently. 

He thought back to his first impressions of agent Stone. He had insulted him, then helped him, then gave him fancy coffee, something he hadn't had since the base first got a Starbucks back in the early aughts. He also proved himself useful in more than just housework. Every agent he ever had assigned to him before had been cold, distant, and more of a nuisance than they were worth. That was why he tried his best to get rid of him. If they had all been this helpful, maybe he would have more assistants. But for now, he wanted to get the most out of Stone as he could for now. 

He actually tried brushing his hair today. The tattered mess of cut and torn chunks and split ends was not manageable anymore, and he pulled it back into a stubby little ponytail. His facial hair, which he tended to ignore, suddenly stuck out to him as a giant mess of strands that made him look like something had blown up in his face, had to change. 

So, he found the scissors he usually used to cut mats or mystery substances from his hair and tried to correct his situation. 

Stone had given the Doctor directions to the first location, a salon where he had worked when he was out of combat for a few years. He still kept in touch with the owner and had asked if he could come in to help a “friend” of his. He wondered how she would react when the Doctor showed up, seeing as he didn’t seem to be the most presentable person in the world. 

He was checking his phone for the fourth time in as many minutes, when he saw the very unique car of Doctor Ivo Robotnik parallel park right in front of him. For a moment, his brain buffered, as Robotnik got out of the car, avoiding the drain next to him. 

He had at least trimmed the beast on his upper lip, so it wasn’t obscuring half of his face, and had even pulled his hair back. And Stone had to admit. 

“You look well today Doctor.” He said, putting his phone away. 

“Your flattery will get you nowhere Agent. What are we doing?” Robotnik slammed his door behind him, and scratched his face, squinting against the sun. 

“I contacted a friend of mine; she's letting me use her supplies. I figured you wouldn’t want strangers touching your head and all.” He had only known the Doctor for one full day, but he could tell he was a particular man. And when he opened his mouth to protest, he must have seen the knowing look in Stone’s eye and shrugged ever so slightly. 

“If you shave my head agent, I will remove several of your teeth.” Was what he replied before walking into the salon. Which was mostly empty at the time of morning on a weekday. 

No one paid them much mind as Stone patted the back of a swivel chair and found a cape so that the doctor wouldn’t have to be covered in hair. 

“Any ideas for what you want Sir?” Stone said as he acquainted himself with the setup of his friend’s supplies. 

“Just fix it if you would, I don’t care what you do as long as it looks decent.” Robotnik disliked spaces where his back was towards people. Agent Stone had removed his suit jacket, and was trying to figure out where to start, and removed the ponytail the Doctor had used to seem presentable. 

“Are you sure that I shouldn’t just shave it?” Robotnik glared at stone through the mirror as he said that. 

“I could always send you to the Antarctic base station and hunt you for sport.” Robotnik hissed through his teeth. 

“Alright, alright.” Stone was laughing a little as he started to brush the Doctor’s hair, it wasn’t as terrible as earlier, but it gave him a little trouble at times. Stone fell back into an old rhythm as he carved away at the mass of thick hair on the doctor’s head, and began to cut it short, he had to get it to a certain length before he would be able to use the clippers on it, and was very careful to not cut it too short. 

Robotnik watched as his hair went from unkempt to a very classic style barber cut, faded on the sides and parted deeply on the left. 

“Satisfactory, Agent.” He was deeply pleased with the do and had to restrain himself from reaching up and touching it. 

“Well sir, would you like me to help you with the moustache too?” Stone said, rather nonchalantly. “I know how to do a straight razor shave rather well.” 

He was already in the chair, and in no real place to refuse, as he had only trimmed his moustache for the first time in what he would estimate to be a year or so. So, he nodded. “Try not to decapitate me if you could Agent.” 

“Of course, Sir.” 

The experience of having a hot towel laid on his face and feeling the razor slide across his face slowly was almost transcendent, it was calming, and it reminded him of how he felt while fine tuning a robot or working on the small details of a schematic. By the end he was tempted to fall asleep, but he wasn’t going to show that kind of behavior to his assistant. Every new underling should know how to respectfully treat their boss and putting them to sleep was not in any handbook. 

“Alright, now that we’re done with that...” Stone tilted the chair back up and this time, robotnik did reach up and touch his face. He even twirled the now waxed ends of his moustache. “Shall we begin looking for clothes?” 

“Agent Stone, you have done an excellent job. I will be asking you to do this again in the future.” the Doctor smiled, absolutely thrilled at the difference, he tried to think of a work to describe his new look, and genuinely, the only word that he could find was “hot”. He, Doctor Ivo Robotnik, was hot. 

“You only have to ask.” Stone removed the cape from robotnik and began sweeping, only for a woman across the room to interrupt him. 

“Don’t worry about that kid, get going now.” Stone’s old boss was in the midst of dying some housewife’s hair, as she smiled over at him. And Stone smiled back, he had always hated sweeping. 

“Then we should go get me some new clothes, to match my new look.” Robotnik kept looking in the mirror, a smug, pleased look plastered across his face. 

“Of course, sir, I tend to get my suits and even a number of my more casual clothes from a boutique down the street. I was thinking we could check there first.” Stone offered the door to 

“Lead the way Agent.” 

Stone had remembered how as a child his mother would pick out clothes and he would be forced to try them on slowly, excruciatingly, suffering as he tried on scratchy sweaters and tiny jeans. 

He could see this same emotion on the Doctor as he tried on a suit. 

Stone thought he looked great, aside from the sour look, but robotnik looked extremely uncomfortable. 

“I don’t like this. Find me something that doesn’t make me look like a Christmas ham.” He frowned and removed the jacket. 

Stone figured that after years of wearing giant, stretched soft clothes, a suit might be too much. But he had to admit he looked good in it. 

So, he began walking around, even asking a store clerk to help him find clothes that weren’t explicitly made for lounging, but were very comfortable 

Robotnik kept the suit on as he waited, vowing to burn all of his old clothes once the agent found something satisfactory. He intended to buy many of the same outfit as well. As having a “look” that was stylish was not something he was good at replicating. 

When the Agent came back, he handed him another pair of dress pants. He was about to complain when he felt the fabric under his fingers. “It's not the same material.” 

“No, it's specifically made for its flexibility and stretch, while still being businesslike and fashionable.” 

The shirt was also much more to his liking this time. Long and flowy, not needing to be tucked in or anything. 

“and I was thinking sir, you could always use a statement piece to pull the look together. There's an array of very nice jackets here, and they have an in-house tailor for modification too.” 

“Do as you wish.” Robotnik said before disappearing into the changing room. There was a short period of silence before he spoke up again. “And Stone?” 

“Yes sir?” 

“Buy me fourteen more sets of these clothes.” 

Doctor Robotnik had found a coat, it had a double collar and moved easily. It wasn’t too heavy or too light, and he was sure he could find some way to make it blast resistant. It would take a week to get it tailored, but he was satisfied with all he had gotten. As they left the store, Stone’s arms burdened with clothes, Robotnik caught his reflection in a window, and realized he looked like a completely different person. 

“Stone, you do good work.” He said as they approached his car again. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

He took the bags and placed them in the back of his car. Stone was smiling, a dopey, embarrassing smile that made Robotnik wonder what he thought people thought of him. 

“Thank you, sir. Do you want me to bring you coffee in the morning?” He asked, handing over the last bag. 

Robotnik paused, remembering the latte Stone had brought him before. He hadn’t had a cup of coffee that good in years. 

“Just do what you did last time. If you mess it up, I'll make sure no one remembers you.” He got in the car and shut the door behind him. 

Stone started at the dark tinted windows, unable to see the Doctor inside, but still nodded before going back to his own car. 

Stone liked to check his email before bed, making sure he hadn't missed anything in the chaos of the day. So he was sitting quietly at the kitchen table of his apartment, drinking a cup of peppermint tea as his day wound to a close. 

In the kitchen, Harris was cleaning up from dinner, they had ordered out like usual, since he was so busy, and he was busy placing leftovers in Pyrex containers and washing off their forks and knives. 

Stone read over an email talking about the death of Major Eric McKinley, and how there would be a memorial service for his work in the line of duty. The link to the Facebook RSVP was on the email. He made sure to say he would not be going. 

He felt warm, strong arms wrap around his shoulders and he smiled softly at the soft sound of Harris’s breathing near his ear. 

“Whatcha reading?” He said in his deep, but singsong tone. 

“Just emails. Had to turn down the RSVP for McKinley’s memorial.” Harris sat down beside him and looked at him, a tinge of worry on his usually shining face. 

“You sure you’re ok?” he gently took Stone’s hand, squeezing it lightly. “You can tell me when you’re ready.” 

“I’m fine, it's just too soon to see everyone.” He sighed, he didn’t feel guilty, but he made sure he looked strained. Any normal person would be upset they saw a friend get killed, but only Stone knew they weren’t friends. 

“I know Stony, once you’re done with checking your emails, feel free to join me for some...” He looked like he was holding in a laugh, which he was. “Netflix and chill.” Harris wiggled his eyebrows, grinning like an idiot. 

“I will. Dumbass.” Stone pulled him over and gave him a kiss on his cheek. “You’ll get more where that came from.” 

Harris kissed him back, this time on the lips, and Stone felt his heart flutter. He wanted to finish these emails soon. He had a show to watch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harris :)


	4. Digging up the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robotnik doesn't go long without looking up information on his assistants. And he found something highly intriguing when he investigated Agent Stone.

Stone had developed a new routine, he would arrive to work at 8, and make his coffee in the break room, along with one for the Doctor. He had already been making his coffee at work because Harris didn’t like the smell, but he had reverted to a simple americano, where truly, he preferred luxurious, complicated drinks with hard to get ingredients and components. Which is why he found so much happiness in making the Doctor different drinks in the morning. Even when he said things like “Stone this is worse than yesterday” he drank the whole thing, and gave him valuable feedback. 

So far, his favorite had been the first one he had made, with the Austrian goat milk. Which surprised Stone, as it was usually a developed taste, but he appreciated someone else who enjoyed it. 

As he walked to the Lab, he passed the memorial wreath they had put up for Major McKinley and sighed. He did not think the hypocrite deserved as much as he was getting, but he ignored it as best he could as he walked to the door, and let the facial recognition let him in. 

Robotnik had been working on something new, and the large garage door was open in the back. He had requisioned a tractor trailer and had been working on installing his personal self-driving protocols onto it. 

He had several drones flying about, bringing various wrenches and components he needed, installing automatic brakes and tampering with fluid lines to make them more efficient. He hardly ever noticed when Stone came in, but when he smelled the latte placed next to him on the concrete of the parking lot, he turned to stone, a pair of goggles obscuring his eyes. 

“Ah, Agent. Good to see you. You’re three minutes late.” He pushed himself out from under the truck and sat up, taking the lid off the paper cup and taking a sip. “Seeing as this is 85 degrees Celsius, you must have had an issue with the machine.” 

“Ah, well, it took a little longer to brew is all. Nothing to worry about.” Stone was able to remember enough from living abroad to know that 85 degrees Celsius was about 185 degrees Fahrenheit, which was enough to scald the inside of one’s mouth. “Is it too hot?” 

“I’m going to set it aside for now. As it did burn the roof of my mouth. But this is secondary to what is really important here.” He stood up and set the coffee on a low table with a few tools on it as he dusted off his clothes. “No, no, what's really important here is that I have figured out the most effective way to bring my creations to different locations.” He gripped stone’s shoulder with an intense, lean fingered grasp. “A mobile lab.” 

Stone was unsure what to say, but the grin upon the doctor’s face hinted he was supposed to congratulate him in some regard. “Wonderful sir, any reason why you decided upon this?” 

“Oh I could tell you many reasons why, it’s the freedom to move, it’s the extra storage space, it’s the fact that I can place sleeping quarters in it, so I don’t have to return home as much, or I could even park it at my home.” He said, throwing his arms up “But I noticed something Stone. It's much easier to move things around when the person I'm relying on for backup isn’t about to vomit.” 

Stone felt his stomach drop with shame as he realized that the Doctor had noticed his aversion. 

“Ah well, it’s a good idea either way.” He forced a smile, and Robotnik pushed his goggles up, looking him in the eyes. 

“Since you work for me now, I did some digging. Your actions in Wyoming surprised me a bit, but now I know why you were so harsh on the Major.” Robotnik began walking into the lair, heading to the computer, Stone stumbled, trying to follow without falling. 

“Two tours with the air force, a two-year break in-between. The first was six years, and the second was cut short. An honorable discharge.” Stone knew what was coming next. “And a purple heart.” 

His breath caught in his throat for a moment, and he had to set his cup down. “And? What of it.” 

“You came back. You worked on the outside for one year before contacting someone to see if you could come back. You were put at a desk, and you even made employee of the month for your department.” Stone had steadied himself on the desk in front of all the monitors, and he saw the Doctor get closer to him, before feeling a force slam into his right leg, and he was sent careening to the floor. 

Robotnik leaned over and grabbed his right ankle, lifting his leg in the air, and pushing the pantleg down. 

He couldn’t feel any of it, of course. He hadn't felt anything on that side in almost two years now. But he felt humiliation rise against his collar, heat crossing his chest, neck and face and the Doctor stared at his prosthetic with intense interest. 

“You don’t like to talk about this I'm guessing. But I have a proposition. Let me make you a new one.” The doctor had a firm grip on the hinged ankle, and Stone wanted to pop the whole thing off and shuffle away. But he didn’t. Instead, he softly whispered. 

“What do you mean.” 

“I want you working at full capacity.” He paused “No, past that. I want you better than you were before. And so, I want you to let me make you a new leg.” 

“What do you know about prosthesis.” Stone frowned, still unable to get up, leg suspended above him. 

“Enough. And I know enough to make sure you won't have to worry about paying for replacements in the future. They’re expensive enough as is, and I know that the VA doesn’t help nearly as much as they should.” He let go of the leg and It fell, Stone wincing when the metal sent a shock up the rest of his leg. 

“And if I say no?” Stone slowly got up, making sure to place more of his weight on his good leg. 

“Then you say no. But I will know that you could be better.” He took a sip of Stone’s latte. 

“I’m not fond of people touching my leg you know. I avoided physical therapy for a while because of it.” Stone sighed, watching as the Doctor took his coffee once more. 

Robotnik shrugged and pulled up a blueprint on the screen. “Well, I’ve been looking into it for a few days now. And if you let me. I could easily get it done by the end of the week.” 

The schematics showed a sleek, modern design, and notes detailed various functions and even a compartment. Stone raised an eyebrow at the “Blade, for self-defense.” Knowing he had three separate guns on him. But he appreciated the sentiment. 

“Well, I suppose you owe me for the shopping trip.” He feigned being slightly annoyed as he saw the now semi-permanent grin on the Doctor’s face widen slightly. 

“Wonderful. Now I will have to request that tomorrow you come in willing to remove it for measurements. But Otherwise, it shouldn’t be too intrusive.” He pressed a few buttons and Stone heard the now familiar noise of the 3d printer whirr in the background. 

“No wonder you dislike self-riotousness Agent. It almost killed you.” Robotnik finished off the latte Stone had forfeited. 

“It killed my friends. And innocents.” Stone frowned. “And it would have killed you. So, I see no reason why it shouldn’t bother me.” 

“That's the difference between us, you care about the lives of others. Well, that and that I have 5 PHD’s.” The doctor slid his goggles on again. He tapped his fingers as if he was playing a piano. “When you were cleaning my lab, you used my computer for... Music. When I turned it on this morning, it started blaring some song.” 

“Oh, Sorry sir.” Stone felt his ears grow hot this time, realizing he had forgotten to log off of his Spotify. 

“No, no. The surprising thing was, I enjoyed it. I don’t usually even listen to music, but this... You have good taste.” He paused. “If you could, play some more. I don’t know the half of it when it comes to music, but I want to listen to something while I work on the lab.” He started walking to the door again, “It better not suck!” 

Stone was surprised, his brain taking a moment to buffer, before he pulled up Spotify once more, and hit play on the playlist he listened to while cleaning. 

He saw Robotnik throw up a thumbs up as he slid back under the truck, and sat there for a moment, processing everything that was going up. 

“Sir, I’m going back to my desk for a bit. I’ll be back in about an hour.” He called out, not getting a response, but leaving anyways. 

On his way back to the cubicle he noticed something. He heard someone whisper “Robotnik” as they spoke to another agent as he passed. Gossip. He wasn’t unfamiliar with it. But it still tended to piss him off a bit. 

He sat down at his desk, which had been inhabited a lot less in the past few days, so he hadn’t noticed a few files that had been placed upon it. 

He frowned upon seeing the name plastered on front. “Ivo Robotnik, PHD” 

Someone had done him the favor of finding the Doctor’s files. But he doubted it was the Doctor himself. He set the files aside and set this face upon his desk. 

This is fine, he told himself, his boss making him a new leg, needing to be taught now to dress right, and stealing his coffee. 

It was fine. 

He didn’t care. 

He wasn’t embarrassed. 

In fact, he was so fine with it, with not having caffeine this morning, that he was going to allow himself to close his eyes for a moment. 

Just a moment. 

His forehead was on the desk, and he closed his eyes, and without realizing. He was out. 

He felt a hand rest on the back of his neck, and he snapped awake, twitching slightly. 

“Did I disturb you Agent Stone? Taking a nice nap?” The Doctor’s voice was inches from his ear. 

Frantically, he sat up. “I’m sorry sir. What time is it?” 

“Almost noon. Have a late night?” He had his hands on his hips, a subtle smirk on his lips. And Stone squeezed his eyes closed as he adjusted to being awake once more. 

“You keep taking my coffee. I make you your own, but you keep taking mine.” Stone groaned as he stood up, taking a deep breath. “I apologize for my transgression sir. I request that you not report my failing. It won't happen again.” 

Robotnik shook his head “I know it won’t, I changed your schedule. Get here at Nine like a normal person. Otherwise I’ll send you home.” He looked at the files that had been under Agent Stone, a tiny bit of drool staining the manila. “What are those?” 

“Uh, they were here when I got here. Did you send them?” 

“God no. I would just email you. Bring those to the garage. I’d like to check through them.” He began walking away, before he noticed another agent glaring him down. 

“Oh hello... Daniel?” He said, unsure. 

“Damien. Why are you here?” This guy had a sour look on his face as he approached, and Stone stood behind Robotnik, a little on edge. 

“Oh, just checking up on my new assistant. He hasn’t gone M.I.A. unlike some of you.” Robotnik had a tone to his voice, tinged with sarcasm and betrayal. 

“Ah well, give it some time Doctor.” Damien hissed, his lip raising. “You chase everyone off eventually.” 

Robotnik rolled his eyes, watching as Damien strode off. “Good riddance.” 

“What was that?” Stone muttered, realizing that maybe he should consider moving his desk to the lab, as dealing with people like that might drive him crazy. 

“Just what I said it was, an old assistant. Damien lasted the longest. He’s bitter that I sent him away I think.” Robotnik began to leave, files in hand. 

He didn’t know why, but the idea of someone knowing the doctor longer than him, and not even bothering to help him, or at least try to clean him up, left a bitter taste in his mouth. 

“Doctor do you mind if I move my workstation into the garage. I’d rather not be around people if their only interest is to speak behind my back.” Stone sighed, looking over at a woman who had been looking at them over her lunch. 

“Of course, Stone. Now you understand why I prefer to work behind closed doors.” 

Stone now left base at about 7 pm and got home at 8. Harris usually got home later, but tonight was date night, and he had said he was going to make them dinner. 

Which was why Stone was disappointed when he did not see his car in the apartment parking lot. 

He worried that it would happen again, another Friday night spent alone while his boyfriend worked himself to death. 

But he wasn’t surprised at least anymore. He entered his home, and it was dark inside. He hung up his coat, and slowly flicked on lights one by one. 

The kitchen and living room had Ikea furniture they had built together, shelves filled with books on physical therapy and cheesy romance novels. 

“Hey where are you?” He sent Harris a text, and waited a few minutes, getting a bottle of cider from the back of the fridge. 

As he turned the television on, putting on some show about a post-apocalyptic space station dystopia thing. He wasn’t paying attention though, as he watched his phone. 

“Hey! Sorry, I won’t be home until late, high profile customer needed extra help. I’ll make it up to you, I promise. I’ll eat here so feel free to have the leftovers.” 

It was like this a lot these days. Stone spent most evenings alone, when Harris was gone, it wasn’t like he had any friends. None left anyways. So, he would do what he always did. Check his Emails and go to bed. 

He may have developed a new routine, but old habits die hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're wondering what the "Accident" was, it will be explained in more detail later. Hope you enjoyed!


	5. Just a Stone's throw away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unknown feelings culminate in a dinner invitation, and a few rotten interactions.

Robotnik did come into work on the weekends. He always felt like he had to work on something at least. But he had a very specific goal in mind for this Sunday. 

He began to assemble the printed parts of the prosthesis early in the morning, and when the sun went down, he was finally satisfied. As he drifted slowly out of the intense focus, he found himself in while working, he looked down at his hands. 

Fingertips cut on sharp, unpolished plastic, ached as he noticed them. 

He frowned and made a note to ask Stone to buy him some gloves. He even opened his mouth to call out to the man, before realizing he was alone in the shop. 

It had only been a week or so. And yet he had gotten so used to his company. He didn’t have a way to contact him outside of work though. He slowly set the leg down, and walked over to his computer, pulling up the document he had on Stone. 

His personal number was on there, of course, for if he needed to be contacted outside of work hours. But under that was a name, listed as Emergency Contact. 

Harris Bouvard, a name he didn’t remember from any agency registry. A stranger. 

He did not like being uninformed. 

Stone had come in at 9, like the doctor had requested, and felt much more rested than he had been previously. Though he did begin to drink his coffee as he walked to the garage. He was careful with the heat this time and had added a hint of vanilla to the drink. 

He did not see the Doctor as he walked in. The door to the outside was closed. But the computer was on. So, it didn’t seem like he would be gone. 

He set down the drinks, and turned back to the door, only to see the Doctor standing by the doorframe. 

“You really should work on your observational skills Agent. If I had wanted to, I could have killed you.” 

He was wearing the coat they had found the previous week. It turned him into a shadow of a man, tall and lean as he hid in the dark. 

Stone’s pulse lept in his throat, and he stared. “Jesus Doctor, you almost gave me a heart attack.” 

“I looked at your medical records, your heart is fine.” He sighed, rolling his eyes. 

“Why’d you hide back there?” Stone sighed, leaning against the desk. 

“I thought you would notice me. I have a surprise.” He walked over to the workshop area, where a cloth covered something laying atop it. 

“I have a guess.” Stone said, matter of factly. It wasn’t too hard to guess when the shape was pretty obvious. 

“Even if you do, act surprised.” Robotnik grinned as he pulled back the cloth to reveal the leg, much sleeker and nicer looking than his basic, cheapest version of the insurance provided prosthetic. 

To be honest, Stone was surprised. So, he didn’t hide the little gasp he let out when he saw it. 

“It reads residual muscle twitches as you move, so it should be more reliable, Of course I still need to do the measurements to your leg, but we can do that tomorrow. Since I wasn’t able to contact you over the weekend.” He laid that line out, hoping Stone would realize his request without having to come out and say it. 

“Oh! Do you need my number?” Hook line and sinker, Stone pulled the right words from his repertoire and pulled his phone from his pocket. 

“That would be fantastic, Agent.” As he looked over at Stone’s phone, he saw a contact that confirmed his suspicions. “Who’s Harris?” 

“Oh, Harris is my boyfriend.” He paused “Technically my physical therapist too.” 

“What a complex relationship.” Robotnik didn’t know why stone saying “Boyfriend” bothered him so much. Maybe it was because all his other assistants had been unattached. But he was ever so slightly worried it would distract him. 

“Not really.” Stone shrugged, adding Robotnik’s number on his phone, and adding a small egg emoji next to the name. 

“What’s that for?” 

“The drones look like eggs.” Stone said this as if it was a completely normal observation. Robotnik shook his head. 

“They are aerodynamic wonders. Not eggs.” He feigned offence and went and sat down. “Either way, I’ll probably message you if I need anything picked up outside of work hours. You can just bring it into work the next day.” 

“Oh, Sure.” Stone was surprised that Robotnik would want to bother with him outside of work hours, and for a moment, he had a thought. “Doctor, what do you do outside of work hours.” 

Robotnik paused and went quiet “Not much. I don’t think it's necessary to engage in acts like socializing outside of necessary boundaries.” 

“Ah, well, I just felt it necessary to ask, as when I met you, you had locked yourself in here for two weeks. It might do you some good to start going out a bit more.” Robotnik sat at his desk and took his coffee. 

“I think you need to remember who is in charge here Agent. Otherwise you may be out of a job.” Stone must have struck a nerve, because the Doctor didn’t even look at him as he logged on to his computer. “Go look through the tech requests. I don’t need your help right now.” 

Stone was surprised, but it faded quickly. He had been too demanding. He was lucky he hadn’t been fired when they first met, so he understood that the Doctor felt the need to draw a line in the sand now. They worked together, they were acquaintances, nothing more. So, he moved to his desk, and opened up messages from various people asking to use Robotnik’s drone tech. He had been instructed to deny all of them. 

He didn’t mind that. He found the use of drones just for personal gain a bit foolish. 

Work was quiet, neither of them spoke, but Stone heard the Doctor wandering about the shop a bit. It was too cold to work on the truck, so he paced about like a cat locked in a bedroom as to not disturb a guest. 

It was on his 17th lap around the room, that he grabbed Stone by the shoulder, and cleared his throat. “Agent Stone go get me lunch. I’ll be going out.” 

He didn’t even have a chance to ask what he wanted, or where he was going before, he disappeared in a dramatic whirl of his coat. 

Stone was slightly regretting getting him that. It gave him too much power. 

He didn’t even know if the Doctor had any dietary restrictions. 

Robotnik felt unnecessarily frustrated, he hadn’t gotten any new assignments, and he couldn’t work on the massive truck indoors to his lament. So, in an attempt to quell the bubbling turmoil in his chest, he went on a walk. 

The location where he worked was large enough that he could wander uninterrupted for a while and had enough twisting hallways that it was easy to lose anyone who tried to follow you. 

He was used to having to make these calculations, but for once, he tried not to think about it. Unsuccessfully of course. 

As he turned a corner, he came face to face with a personal unending headache. 

“Damien.” He tried to walk past the man, who grabbed his arm firmly. 

“We keep bumping into each other Doctor. Why is that?” He had this tone that Robotnik had grown familiar enough with. 

“I’m not seeking you out. I simply needed a break.” He shook his grip rather easily. 

“Come on Doctor, I wish you would have kept me on. You’re letting that new Agent push you around. You’re going to go soft at this rate.” 

Robotnik snorted, Damien obviously didn’t know anything about Stone. “Don’t worry about my mettle Agent. Its none of your business.” 

He pushed him away slightly and kept walking. 

“He won't do the same things for you, even if he did make you fix your shit. He’ll throw you aside like you do everyone else.” His strides increased as his ex-assistant mocked him, and he very quietly decided to negotiate a relocation for him. He didn’t want him around in this new phase of his career. 

He did on the other hand, want Stone to be there. 

How does one talk about Doctor Ivo Robotnik, Stone had no idea, he also had no idea how to explain his new position to Harris, who still thought he was working red tape in a cubicle. 

So, as he sat at his desk, he tried to figure out how to describe him. 

“Walking dumpster fire” 

“Weirdly good looking once you get past the sociopathic behavior” 

“Overconfident with too much power” 

None of these did the job he wanted though. 

Though he had an idea on what might. 

Robotnik came back through the sliding door into the garage and made a beeline to the desk. Stone had placed the takeout clamshell where he could see it, but he said nothing. There was an aura coming from the desk, and yet he still had a question to ask. 

“Doctor, I was wondering what your weekends look like.” He got up and began to walk over to the desk. 

The Doctor had a mouthful of the panini he had gotten him for lunch. “Like any other day Stone. 24 hours.” 

“Well, would you feel at all interested in joining me for dinner this weekend? I would love to introduce you to my partner.” Robotnik almost choked on his sandwich but played it off. 

“Doesn’t that seem rather unprofessional to you Agent?” Robotnik set the sandwich down, he was upset at how good it was, like Stone just couldn’t mess up even when he set him up for failure. 

“Well yes, but my partner likes knowing who I'm working with, and honestly, whenever I try to describe you, I'm at a loss for words. So, I thought the best course of action would to be simply introducing you in person.” Stone wore a stupid smile on his face, kind an innocent, but Robotnik had seen those other parts of him. He wondered if that... Harris guy had as well. 

And with this question in mind, he sighed. “I guess I may as well. Just tell me the times and I'll see if I can work it into my schedule.” 

“Oh, I already have, I’m your assistant, it’s the least I can do to work around your business hours.” Stone said, pulling his phone out. 

“Then why did you ask about my weekends?” Robotnik smirked, leaning on the arm of his chair and twirling his moustache. 

“Well... It would have been rude not to ask. I couldn’t just not tell you.” 

“That is fair.” Stone laughed nervously. “So, I'll be meeting... Harris, correct?” 

Stone nodded “Hopefully, he keeps canceling things lately...” Robotnik could read the irritation on Stone’s face, and almost felt bad for him. But he kept that to himself. 

“Well then, I'll try to make a good first impression. He doesn’t know about your job shift?” Stone felt his ears burn. 

“Well, I just haven’t gotten to it yet. I’m going to tell him when I bring up the dinner.” Stone pulled his phone out “I’ll do it now if you want.” 

“I can’t stop you either way. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to finish my lunch.” 

Stone backed off, going back to his desk, finally sending those messages he had been holding off on. 

“I’d like to have my new boss over for dinner this Saturday, he’s a very interesting and very talented man and I think you two would hit it off!” he followed it up by “Also since, you know, you skipped out on date night, I’d love it if you could cook.” 

It was half an hour later he got a response. “Okay I guess, I didn’t know you got a new boss, is this something to do with McKinley?” a second bubble popped up not seconds later “Wish you would have told me sooner, just had to cancel with a client because of this.” 

Guilt settled in Stone’s stomach. But it soon subsided, why did Harris have a client on a Saturday. The physical therapy practice was only open Monday through Friday. 

He was distracted when Robotnik suddenly turned on one of his playlists, music blaring out of his computer for a few seconds before he cursed and turned it off. 

“I thought the blasted headphones were connected. I’d rather not get a heart attack like that!” 

Stone laughed, hardly realizing it. His heart settled, and he put his phone away. He still had a few more hours here. He didn’t intend on them being full of strife. 

When he came home that evening, Stone found Harris cooking while the flat screen in the adjacent living room played an episode of a show about a strange detective and his friends. But he didn’t notice much more when Harris came over and kissed him tenderly, smiling. “Hi babe, how was work?” 

“Fine, is this you making up for missing date night?” Stone wrapped his arms around his boyfriend waist, he was tall and muscular, a little heavy handed at times, but ultimately charming. His fingers gently messed up Stone’s usually perfect hair, and he smiled. 

“Would you fault me for it?” 

“Not at all.” 

Their evening was charmed, and Stone almost melted from how good the baked salmon tasted after his long day. The evening ended with them both on the couch, Stone resting his head against Harris’s chest. 

“Babe?” Stone could feel the words rumble in his pillow’s chest. 

“Mm?” He watched the tv, a favorite movie of Harris’s playing. 

“You sure you don’t want to use the crutch more? It must be a lot of strain on your stump to always just be walking.” Harris had brought this up before. But Stone hated the crutch. Sure, what was left of his leg hurt at times, but the looks he got while using the crutch were worse. 

“Actually, I’m looking into a more advanced prosthetic. The new position got me better insurance.” He technically wasn’t lying, seeing as Robotnik wasn’t making him pay for the leg. 

Harris sighed. “I guess. I just think if you’re always walking on that, someday you’re going to fall and embarrass yourself, and then you’ll have to explain yourself. No one bothers with asking if you use a crutch.” 

“They ask about how you lost it. Constantly.” He remembered the month before he was fitted with the leg, and how everyone always got so weepy and thanked him for his service. “I’d rather not have to explain my leg was mutilated in a plane crash after I had to kill the pilot.” 

Harris went quiet. “Isn’t it lying if you don’t?” 

Stone sat up, frowning. “I’m going to bed.” 

Harris tried to say something, but he ignored him, going into the bedroom and closing the door. Why did he always say things like that? What did he do to deserve it? 

He laid down, taking the leg off, and setting it next to the bed. He knew it was a small price to pay for saving his life, but it was still a reminder that so many others had died. Just because he didn’t react fast enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had a bit of trouble writing this chapter, sorry for the wait!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, after seeing the Sonic movie i went absolutely feral and now I guess I'm writing a multi-chapter work about Doctor Fucking Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik and his simp. Hope y'all enjoy.


End file.
